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Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

Hopping sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on January 27, 2014| 7 Comments »

I finally made it out to my local marsh this past weekend to check out the wildlife activity following our recent snowstorm and protracted period of cold weather. The boardwalks are still mostly slippery and covered with packed snow and almost all of the water in the ponds is frozen solid, which means that most of the geese and ducks have relocated. The cold spell is forecast to continue this week, so I don’t expect to see the water fowl returning any time soon.

The sparrows seemed even more active than normal, though, in constant motion as they moved from one set of vegetation to another. Often it seemed that they chose to hop from place to place, rather than fly, and I caught this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in mid-hop. (It looked like they would extend their wings a bit when they would hop down from a higher point on a plant to a lower spot).

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Goldfinch in January

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 26, 2014| 8 Comments »

Another unexpected bird that I sighted during a recent walk around my neighborhood was this American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). I don’t think that I have seen one before during the winter—during the spring and the summer the goldfinch’s bright yellow plumage makes it easier to spot one.

I guess I need to pay more attention to the birds of the neighborhood, for it appears that more of them overwinter than I originally thought. What else is out there, waiting to be seen and photographed?

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Nuthatch in winter

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 25, 2014| 18 Comments »

I didn’t think that there were many birds in my suburban neighborhood at this time of the year, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of different species during a post-snowstorm walk, including this White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). For most of hte time that I was observing it, the nuthatch was in the typical head-down position, but it finally turned its head to the side and I got this shot.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Dancing leaf

Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 24, 2014| 13 Comments »

How do you convey a sense of the winter season? Do you take wide-angle shots of snow-covered mountain peaks? Do you show vast fields or forests or frozen ponds, all blanketed in white?

I didn’t really have a plan when I set out for a walk in my neighborhood after a recent storm that dumped over six inches of snow (about 15 cm) on us. The sun was shining and the snow was beautiful, though it was windy and cold. I walked for a while, taking in this uncommon view of the common scenery (we don’t get snow very often in Northern Virginia), when I caught sight of some motion out of the corner of my eye—an oak leaf was dancing across the surface of the powdery snow.

When the leaf came to rest, I hurried toward it, wanting to capture the simple beauty of this winter still life that conveyed to me a sense of the winter season.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Squirrel and snow

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 24, 2014| 4 Comments »

Despite the frigid cold and snow, the squirrels in my neighborhood are out and active (and looking surprisingly cute).

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Rainy day cardinal

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 22, 2014| 4 Comments »

Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are one of my favorite birds, in part because they stay with us throughout the winter. The bright red color of the male cardinal never fails to lift my spirits, even on a dreary, rainy day in mid-December, when I took this photo. The feathers on the bird’s body seem to be more subdued than usual, but the spiky red feathers on the cardinal’s head give it plenty of color as well as attitude.

We are covered in snow, thanks to yesterday’s daylong snowstorm, and I would love to get some shots of a cardinal in the snow. The bitterly cold temperatures (it’s 9 degrees F (minus 13 C) and windy right now), gusty winds, and treacherous road conditions, however, may limit my photo opportunities for the next few days.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Waking up in midwinter

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 21, 2014| 7 Comments »

Yesterday when the sun was shining and the temperature soared to the high 50’s (15 degrees C), I was blissfully ignorant that snow was headed our way. Like this Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) that I observed at my local marsh, I wanted only to bask in the warmth of the sun.

Today in the Washington D.C. area, the federal government and most of the schools are closed and we are all hunkered down as we await the arrival of what is forecast to be the biggest snowstorm we’ve had in a few years, as much as eight inches (20cm).

During the summer, I often see a whole row of turtles on this particular log, but yesterday this was the only turtle that had bee roused from its slumbering state by the surprisingly warm, sunny weather. The mud on its shell suggests that this turtle did not swim around a lot, but made a beeline for this log after rose to the surface.

I suspect that this turtle is already back in the mud at the bottom of the pond today, comfortably dreaming of spring, when it will reemerge into the sun.

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Click on the photo to see a higher resolution view of the turtle.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Rapid-fire sequence of goose in flight

Posted in Art, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 20, 2014| 9 Comments »

So many factors have to work together perfectly to get good shots of a bird in flight—the lighting has to be right, the exposure needs to be correct, the shutter speed needs to be fast enough to stop the motion, and, most critically perhaps, the camera has to focus properly on the moving subject. Of course, it helps also to be able to capture the wings in an interesting position and to have a background that is not distracting.

I have been working on taking photos of birds in flight, especially Canada Geese, but it has been rare for me to get all (or even most) of the variables to fall into place at the same time. However, in late December I took a series of shots of a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) that turned out really well. The background was the sky, which some folks don’t find to be very interesting, but at least the goose was not obscured by branches. Click on the photos to see them in higher resolution—I was thrilled that I even managed to get a catchlight in the visible eye.

The challenge for me will be to repeat this success with smaller birds that fly faster and less predictably.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Moon at sunrise

Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , on January 19, 2014| 7 Comments »

The moon looked amazing at 7:00 this morning when I went out to get my newspaper from my front steps. It was still dark and in the opposite direction, the sun was just beginning to rise. I rushed back into the house, put some socks on my sandaled feet, and ran outside with my camera to get some shots.

I used the longest lens that I have, a Sigma 135-400mm lens, and leaned it against the roof of a parked car to stabilize it.  I was surprised at the detail that I managed to capture of the craters near the dark side of the moon. (I think the full moon was a few nights ago.) Click on the photo to see it in higher resolution.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Still chasing a Pileated Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 19, 2014| 6 Comments »

It’s nice to be back home from my recent overseas trip and to have the chance to go out in the wild for some photos. Urban shooting is ok, but somehow I feel more comfortable chasing after wildlife.

Yesterday I spotted this Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) high in the trees at Huntley Meadows Park, the local marsh that is my favorite spot for wildlife shooting. I’ve been trying for quite a while to get some good shots of this spectacular woodpecker and they are getting better, though they are not quite there yet.

These two shots are part of a series that I took as the woodpecker moved its head from side to side as well as up and down, chiseling out a hole in the tree. I was amazed to see how far back the woodpecker pulled its head before each stroke and the powerful force with which it struck—it was enough to give me a headache.

I’m still hoping that I will find a Pileated Woodpecker a bit lower in a tree (or working on a fallen log) in a location that will permit me to get some better shots, but I am content that I was able to get these shots when I caught sight of this woodpecker yesterday.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Rainy day blackbird

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 18, 2014| 7 Comments »

Most birds seem to seek shelter when it is raining (and most people too), but this male Red-winged Blackbird (and this photographer) were an exception to that rule in late December.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hunkering down

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 12, 2014| 8 Comments »

It concerns me that this young Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at my local marsh may be too tolerant of people and desensitized to the reality of genuine predators that could do it harm. I worry too about its ability to catch enough food to survive, especially if this is the same young heron that I observed during the fall striking in vain at leaves in the water.

On a cold, wet day this past week, the heron was hunkered down on a log not far from the boardwalk. Other than a few movements of its head as it watched me, the heron didn’t budge a bit as I snapped away and even stayed in place when a noisy group of people walked by us.

When I see this little heron, I try to get a few pictures and then move on, thankful for the photo opportunity, but not wanting to reinforce its comfort level with the presence of people.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Icescapes

Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2014| 9 Comments »

Yesterday’s cloudy, rainy, foggy day made it a little tough to take photos, but I like the effect it had on the landscape, creating almost monochromatic scenes of different shades of gray. This is an unfamiliar style of shooting for me, so I played around a bit, trying to capture both a wide view of the marsh, and some close-views of isolated areas.

The snow here is gone now, but the ice is still hanging on.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Branching out

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 10, 2014| 5 Comments »

I’m not sure if and when we will see more snow in Northern Virginia this winter, so I am posting a couple of shots as an homage to the departed snow.

As you can tell, I was looking up a lot when I walked through my neighborhood and captured somewhat similar images of the snow that had accumulated on a pine tree and an oak tree.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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My little chickadee

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 10, 2014| 7 Comments »

Winter is the time of the year when I am finally able to photograph some of the small birds that are with us all year, but are hidden in the leafy branches and undergrowth during the other seasons, like this Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis). Generally I see these little birds at the feeders at the Visitor Center at my local marshland park, so I was really happy when this chickadee posed for me in a more natural setting.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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The red of winter

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , on January 9, 2014| 4 Comments »

Winter days are often so drab and gray that any splashes of color are especially welcome during this time of year.

I am always happy to encounter the cheerful red color of male Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), which brighten any landscape in which they find themselves. During our recent cold snap, I took this shot of a cardinal foraging in a cattail field covered in snow and ice. I think that he was busy extracting the center portions of the rose hips. (I often see the abandoned shells of rose hips scattered about, so I figure the cardinals don’t eat the entire fruit.)

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Skull of a beaver

Posted in animals, Art, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 8, 2014| 11 Comments »

On New Year’s Day, as I was hiking with a fellow photographer to one of my favorite spots at the local marsh, she spotted this skull, flipped upside down on a mossy log. Had it been placed on the log by a fellow hiker or had it been abandoned there by another animal?

Judging from the length of the one remaining tooth, it looks like this is a skull of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis). There is no way for me to tell how this animal died, but the tooth marks around the eye socket suggest that something has been gnawing on the skull.

We both took some photographs of the skull and then hurried along, hoping to see a live beaver at its lodge. We  saw the lodge, but, alas, did not see a living beaver that day.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Downy details

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 7, 2014| 8 Comments »

Like most Downy Woodpeckers, this little male woodpecker started spiraling his way up the tree as soon as he landed on it. Then to my surprise, he worked his way back down the tree and stopped at eye level, where he stayed long enough for me to take a number of shots and even make a few adjustments in between the shots.

I really like Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens). Their high energy and acrobatic activities are a constant source of interest for me as I watch them at work in the trees and in the cattails. I’ve usually had a tough time, though,  getting an uncluttered shot of a Downy Woodpecker.

I took this shot in an area where there were mostly young trees, which made it easier for me to isolate the woodpecker as he moved about and to slowly move closer and fill the frame with the little bird. The area was shaded, so I ended up using my pop-up flash to add a little fill light. I opened up the aperture as wide as I could, which had the effect of blurring out the background.

I ended up with a portrait-like shot of the Downy Woodpecker that I really like. Click on the image to see it in higher resolution.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Fox trot

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2014| 31 Comments »

This past weekend I caught a glimpse of a fox in motion at Huntley Meadows Park—I’m pretty sure it was doing the foxtrot. I was staring across a mostly frozen beaver pond, when suddenly this red fox (Vulpes vulpes) burst into my field of view. It was running slowly around one edge of the pond, heading in the direction of a wooded area.

I didn’t have much time to react, so I had to make do with the existing camera settings. The exposure was dialed in about right and the shutter speed was fast enough. What I didn’t realize at that moment, though, was that I was in servo mode, because I had been shooting some geese in flight, so I was happy that I somehow managed to lock the focus on the moving fox pretty well. I was a little chagrined after the fact to realize that my zoom lens had not been fully extended—the images were shot at about 200mm on a 70-300mm lens.

I did get some action shots of the fox, but the first image is my favorite. The fox had paused for a split second and was looking back in the direction from which it had come and there is a lot of facial detail.

It’s especially fascinating for me to see the position of the bushy tail when the fox was moving. Often it seems like the tail is parallel to the ground. It’s cool too that I was able to catch the fox in mid-jump, with its feet almost entirely in the air. The snow is mostly gone from the ground today, so I am particularly thankful that I was able to capture some images of this brief encounter with the fox in a wintery scene.

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Portrait of a sparrow in the snow

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 5, 2014| 11 Comments »

Although I already posted a photo earlier today of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in the snow, I came across one I liked even more as I was going through yesterday’s images. This sparrow (and I am never certain of my sparrow identifications) seemed to be posing for me. Somehow I was able to capture details in its eyes that I have never seen before.

After our brief portrait session, the sparrow hurried back to work.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrow in the snow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 5, 2014| 5 Comments »

We don’t get much snow here is Northern Virginia, so I was really excited to visit my marshland park yesterday to see what birds and animals were active. There were lots of crows and Canada Geese, but I was mostly attracted by the frenetic activity of the sparrows.

The sparrows moved around quickly in the snow and on the ice, foraging for food in the dried out vegetation in the cattail field. This little sparrow, which I think is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), paused for a split second and lifted its head, which made it possible for me to get this shot. (Most of my other shots have the sparrow’s head in the shadows or buried in the vegetation).

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Silent mockingbird

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 4, 2014| 12 Comments »

Although the sun was shining brightly yesterday, it seemed to be generating little heat and the gusts of wind made staying outdoors uncomfortable after a short while. Even the birds in the neighborhood seemed to have taken shelter, with the exception of this Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) that I was able to photograph as it foraged for food.

At other times of the year, the cheerful, energetic calls of the mockingbird announce its presence long before my eyes detect it. This mockingbird, however, was completely silent and seemed to be minimizing its expenditure of energy as it sought to sustain itself in the frigid temperatures.

Returning indoors to the warmth of my house, I pondered anew the question of how these fragile creatures are able to survive during the winter. (It’s about 13 degrees outside (minus 10 C) as I make this posting.)

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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I am a shoveler too

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 3, 2014| 8 Comments »

The weathermen thought the snowstorm that is now dumping a lot of snow on the Northeast would skirt around us, but they were wrong—I ended up shoveling a couple of inches of the white stuff yesterday evening and this morning. So, I decided to post this photo of a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) that I took on New Year’s Day, in honor of all of the shovelers in the north that will be busy today.

I remember well the first time I saw a Northern Shoveler last winter. At first I thought it was a Mallard, but then I got a look at the elongated bill, which still seems cartoonish to me. In this image, I really like the way that you can see the shape of the duck’s bill in the reflection in the water.

Our storm started out with rain and then turned to snow and everything is now frozen solid. With strong gusts of wind and a current temperature of 18 degrees (about minus 8 C), I may stick close to home today, but hope to get some shots of the snow.

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Getting my ducks in a row

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 2, 2014| 9 Comments »

The title for this visual pun immediately came to mind when I first saw the photo—I can’t help myself when it comes to puns.

For the record, the colorful duck in the foreground is a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) and the two in the background are male Green-Winged Teals (Anas carolinensis).

As the new year begins, should I be getting my ducks in a row?

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Making an entrance

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 2, 2014| 5 Comments »

Some birds (and some people I know) really like to make an entrance. This Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) made a big splashy arrival in the marsh that seemed to be intended to catch the attention of the spectators already there.

They did not seem to be impressed.

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Click on the photo to see a higher resolution view.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cattail dawn

Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 1, 2014| 6 Comments »

As the new year dawns, it seems appropriate to post this photo I took last weekend at my local marsh, as the early morning sun peeked through the trees and cast its first rays of light onto the cattails.

Best wishes to all for a happy, safe, and blessed 2014.

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Dressed up in the cold

Posted in Art, Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on December 31, 2013| 6 Comments »

Have you ever seen a bird that looked like it was wearing a costume? When I caught sight of  this female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) in the cattails last week, it looked to me like she had donned a large head scarf and an additional coat of feathers as protection from the cold.

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Taking off in the rain

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2013| 15 Comments »

Do you like long walks in the rain? Although this sounds like a question for an on-line dating service, it’s really about your style of photography.

I enjoy taking wildlife photos in the rain, if the rain is not coming down too hard and if it is not too windy. Of course, I can’t control the intensity of the rain, so I have various levels of protection. Generally, I’ll try to hold an umbrella in one hand and shoot one-handed, steadying my shot by leaning against the umbrella handle, if possible. If the rain starts to fall harder I’ll cover up my camera inside my raincoat or sometimes will pull out a plastic trash bag for additional protection until the rain slows down.

Last week, I was walking in the rain at Huntley Meadows Park, my local marshland park, when I came upon a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), standing on the boardwalk. I approached the heron quietly and stopped. The heron was looking right at me and somehow I knew that it was going to take off.

I dropped to one knee, turned the camera sideways, and pulled way back on the zoom lens, hoping to fit the heron into the frame. This image was shot at 75mm on a 70-300mm lens, so you can tell that I was relatively close to the heron. The other settings were f5, 1/400 sec., and ISO 500 for those who might be interested in the technical aspects of the shot.

It’s always interesting to see which birds are active in the rain and I did get some shots of other birds that day, but I will save them for another blog posting.

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European Starling

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 29, 2013| 12 Comments »

Starlings are supposed to be common birds, but I never knew what they looked like up close, so I initially had a lot of trouble identifying the odd-looking bird in these photos that I took in early December.

I’m pretty sure now that it is a European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), a bird that was first introduced into North America in the 19th century by Shakespeare enthusiasts, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. What does Shakespeare have to do with it?

Well, Shakespeare mentions them in one of his plays. Steve Mirsky explained the reference in an article in Scientific American entitled “Shakespeare to Blame for Introduction of European Starlings to U.S.”

“In the late 1590s Shakespeare noted the mimicking ability of the starling while writing Henry IV, Part 1. Hotspur is contemplating driving King Henry nuts by having a starling repeat the name of Hotspur’s brother-in-law Mortimer, whom Henry refuses to ransom out of prisoner status. “Nay, I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but ‘Mortimer,’ ” Hotspur whines.”

In 1871, a group called the American Acclimatization Society was formed in New York, dedicated to introducing European plants and animals and birds into North America, according to Wikipedia. The group’s chairman was an avid admirer of Shakespeare and is said by some to have desired to introduce every bird mentioned by the playwright.  The Cornell Lab notes that the more than 200 million starlings now in North American are descendants of the original 100 starlings released in New York’s Central Park in the early 189o’s. Yikes!

I am always curious about the origin of bird names and learned from the Cornell Lab that the starlings got their name because their wings are short and pointed, making them look rather like small, four-pointed stars when they are flying.

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Daylight moon

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on December 28, 2013| 18 Comments »

I don’t ever go out shooting with the express intent of taking landscape shots, but sometimes when I am looking for wildlife to photograph, the natural beauty of the setting virtually compels me to try to capture it.

That was the case last week, when I was at the location where I had photographed the otter and the fox and happened to glance up into the sky. I was surprised to see how well the colors of the moon, which was pretty prominent for mid-morning, matched the colors of the clouds. It was almost like the moon was a perfectly round cloud.

I didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver in the thick underbrush to help me frame the shot better, so I tried to capture the scene in both portrait and landscape format. I think I like the first image a little better, but decided to include both views.

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I want to fly like an eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on December 27, 2013| 7 Comments »

My heartbeat accelerates every time I see a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a combination of patriotism and awe at the power and beauty of this majestic bird.

Normally the eagles are soaring high in the sky, making it almost impossible for me to get a decent shot. Last Saturday, though, one of them seem to be hunting and circled around me a couple of times at a somewhat lower altitude, which allowed me to get some shots of the eagle in different flight positions.

I took these shots from the same spot at my marshland park where I recently saw an otter, a fox, and a raccoon. If only the park would let me pitch a tent in there.

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